Snaer strikes again

There wasn't any doubt who would have the ball in their hands with the game on the line.

And there wasn't any doubt in the mind of Florida State's Michael Snaer what he was going to do with it.

Snaer's left-handed runner in heavy traffic with 4 seconds left Thursday lifted the Seminoles to a 53-51 win over Virginia after the Cavaliers had fought back from an 11-point deficit to take the lead in the game's final seconds. Snaer's basket put the Seminoles up 52-51 and he was fouled on the play and made the free throw.

"He was able to explode to the basket and fortunate enough to make the basket and get the free throw," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said.

"I knew that I was going to make the play some way, somehow," said Snaer, who moved past former Seminoles great and NBA Hall of Famer Dave Cowens into 10th place on the school's all-time scoring list. He now has 1,489 career points. Cowens, however, played just three seasons. "I have to make sure whenever somebody comes over to help, I'm ready to find my teammates. Nobody came over to stop me."

It was the fourth game-winning shot by Snaer in Atlantic Coast Conference play this season and his sixth in league play over the past two years.

Okaro White led the Seminoles (16-14, 8-9 ACC) with 17 points while Snaer finished with 14 and Kiel Turpin 11.

Akil Mitchell led Virginia (20-10, 10-7) with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, but missed a layup with 21 seconds left with the Cavaliers leading 51-50.

Florida State's Devon Bookert grabbed the rebound and Florida State called a timeout with 12 seconds left to set up the latest game-winner for Snaer.

Keith Appling scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half to help No. 10 Michigan State beat No. 22 Wisconsin and stay in the Big Ten race.

The Spartans (23-7, 12-5) moved into a three-way tie for second with Michigan and Ohio State. The trio trails conference-leading Indiana with one game left in the regular season.

The Hoosiers can claim the Big Ten title outright with a win Sunday in Ann Arbor against the Wolverines. If they lose, Michigan would earn a piece of the title and give Michigan State and the Buckeyes a shot to pull into a four-way tie. The Spartans close the regular season Sunday at home against Northwestern after Ohio State hosts Illinois.

COLORADO 76,

NO. 19 OREGON 53

Xavier Johnson had a career-high 22 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 17 and Colorado beat Oregon, completing a season sweep and thwarting the Ducks' bid to gain a share of the Pac-12 Conference title.

The Buffaloes (20-9, 10-7) played without the nation's leading rebounder, Andre Roberson.

After finally giving up his dream of winning the Kentucky Derby, preferably as a horse, Martin Fennelly has returned to his love of more than two decades, writing about the people and teams who make Tampa sports go.